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Hey this is Tony the taxi driver from Carnasie and although this message will probably not be read (I'm too late on commenting and this may not be the proper spot since I'm neither a bus nor a biker). But I have a perspective and it makes the better part of the great sandwich slice of NY - nothing like a bus and a bike on rye with a slice of a taxi - but the overrall thing that I learned in my years on the road (the greatest advice I've ever be given is that all people in motion from bird to bike should always look at the wheels of the cars, bus or bikes, the direction of the wheel - when in traffic will help you figure out where the driver is going) and in a high-tech world its more organic to let the wheel direct us and teach us, since people often forget to use the old fashioned hand out the window - I'm one of the last Italian old school cabbies who communicate with the hand and arm - but the main point in my long winded opinionated lonely writing is that those with the most power should be the most compassionate.

And since in NY power is relative (the pedestrian DOES NOT GET moving violations/tickets from the fine men/women in blue - therefore, they have the power of freedom that should force them to be compassionate to the taxi who is stuck in a crosstown swamp of traffic, on the other hand the taxi may have more power at certain intersections with the green light and the right of way and then that taxi driver ought to have the most compassion for others on the road - it's hard to find a balance, and what is often missing from New Yorkers these days is a good old fashioned sense of humor - too much technology is isolated people making them want everything too quickly, we need more human interactions to loosen up the frustrations in traffic. And remember a New YO
York minute is so relative.

As one who bikes from Brooklyn to Manhattan on a regular basis I definitely believe that we must address the needs of buses to be able to travel more quickly through the streets and also the need for bikers to be able to share the road with motorists (of all kinds). My hesitation revolves (pun intended) on enforcement. We have miles and miles of bike lanes but does it matter? Vehicles (many city owned) park and drive in them. Why? Because there is no enforcement. Bike lanes are merely white stripes (some with green even in the middle) painted on a black surface. In Holland, you get screamed at if you violate the bike lane rules.

Yes, sharing the bus lane could work if it is wide enough to allow for bikes to ride on the left side. I can't tell you how often I've been squeezed to the curb. If I were one of the non helmet wearing feckless bikers aforementioned I"d just run over the pedestrians waiting to get on the bus.

We must do whatever we can to make this city a desireable place to bike and walk. It is good for the health of all.

of the way of passengers so no issue of it being in the way like on the subway and it would simply expand the range of cyclists incredibly, allowing more amateur cyclists to reach bikeable places that can not be reached by bike lanes and subways.

No no no.

I'm from minneapolis originally, and while I've heard its become more wonderfully bike friendly I saw for years the problem of Nicollet Avenue, originally a shared bike-bus only road eventually bikes got kicked out.

While on a car-bike-bus road everyone is sharing and a bike can slip past and quickly loose a bus, plus the bus drivers end up being more polite having something in common with the cyclist (not being a car, annoyance at dangerous drivers), on a bus-bike only road or lane bus drivers can become aggressive, I've had them barrel up behind me where you could feel the heat of the grill singing the back of your calves.

I bike from BK to Manhattan everyday to work. NO ONE respects the bike lanes except bikes. People park in them, drive in them and stand in them. A bus to clear out the obstacles would be welcome.

In decades of biking in NYC I have hit no pedestrian but have car and car doors and an occasion crazy biker hit me or force me into an obstacle dozens of times.

Most bikers on my route pay attention to the road. I agree that bikers must hold each other to the the law and to a friendly attitude toward pedestrians. If bikers had a safe place on the road, they wouldn't be on the sidewalk.

As a long time cyclist in New York, I am getting very tired of people complaining about "crazy cyclists". Most of us are incredibly aware of pedestrians and do mostly follow the rules. We are also pedestrians when not on our bikes. I would be willing to follow every rule to the letter of the law if the same was done for cyclists - in other words, not parking in the bike lanes, no cutting bikes off, no pushing bikes into traffic, no jogging in the bike lanes (which pushes us into traffic), no pedestrians standing in bike lanes.

Your guest is dreaming. First Avenue is clogged with traffic. When an emergency vehicle tries to get through, which they do every hour on the half hour, it is a nightmare. Our avenues can not be compared to the boulevards in Paris - they are four times as wide, and the citizens drive small, little cars. The delivery trucks are not allowed into the city during the day.

Also I agree with the caller that bikers do not pay attention to the traffic rules. Whenever I cross First Avenue and have the walk sign, I have to be doubly sure a biker isn't coming my way, as he isn't going to stop for the red light.

I ride my bike in Manhattan and other boroughs.

On the one hand, bus drivers tend to be far superior drivers. Cars and trucks and such tend not check for bike traffic with the reliability bus drivers do.

However, in the event of a collision with a bus is far more likely to be fatal for the bicyclist.

The fact that buses pull over regularly to the curb to pick up passengers and bikers are in danger of being trapped.

Finally, I think it's ironic and poisonous for bicyclist to share a lane with diesel-driven vehicles. If these buses don't burn diesel, that's different. But we know for sure that diesel exhaust exposure causes asthma, cancer and heart disease and contributes to death over time. Bicyclist wear helmets but not respirators, and shouldn't be so closely exposed to this killer.

In LA the buses can carry your bike. This would be a perfect for addition to this plan for rainy days and long trips.

Also, bikes are the best form of environmentally friendly and exercise friendly form of travel, why would we put ANY limits on this?

Wonder if that first caller was J-walking when he was hit?

guys. go to india, and check the traffic there. total chaos, no rules, no lanes, no accidents.

It's the restaurant delivery people I usually see riding the wrong way on streets and breaking various traffic laws.

The Paris bus-bike lanes work really well, and this move would be a huge step in the right direction for both bikes and rapid transit. I am a huge fan of this!

We have to keep in mind, though, that Paris is much more bike-friendly in general, with much more open space, bikes on every sidewalk with no complaints from pedestrians, and apparently no need for use of helmets (a mystery to me).

An additional bus-bike partnership could be bike RACKS on the front of buses. It would be a much easier way to get around distances in the city with our bikes than schlepping them on the subway.

Sounds great to me. I'd much rather deal with a licensed bus driver than a cabbie/out-of-towner whatever.
regarding this comment:
"Bikers are WAY more dangerous to pedestrians (and each other) than trucks, buses, taxis."

Are you out of your mind?? a thirty pound bike vs. a car/bus?

No doubt bikers can be dangerous. I think those bikers who find romance in the danger need to find another outlet for that and accept that we all need to work together. But drivers and pedestrians are fully just as culpable: everyone needs to learn coexistence skills and better space management.

Current caller is SO right. For the rest of us to take bikes seriously, they must ride seriously.

Current caller is SO right. For the rest of us to take bikes seriously, they must ride seriously.

re: the current bike hating caller. I'd match that $5 bet for money for pedestrians who break the law. What are you doing walking in a bike lane while texting your friends? Or crossing against the light? Or darting out between calls. I gaurantee that guy breaks the law daily in his walking practices.

I agree with the caller. Come downtown as well and do a survey. Bicycle deliverymen in the Financial district are really dangerous.

That bikes are nimble and buses are not is precisely why this works!

I agree with the bicycle haters to some extent. I think NY bikers have a PR problem. They can be pretty in-your-face agressive and obnoxious.

The good news about this is that pedestrians would stay out of the lanes, which they don't do with "dedicated" bike lanes. The best plan would be for the bikes to get the left side of the lane, so we're not cut off when buses pull over to stop. This situation sort of exists on Adams St. in Brooklyn (on the side lane). The problem is that the bike part of the lane is only about 2 feet wide and filled with pot holes. And, of course, the buses pull into it to stop.

I am a 69-year-old Manhattan biker. I have no fears on Manhattan streets and bike where ever I want to when ever I want to. Since I live on 8th Ave and 27th St, most of my cycling is in and around Chelsea and the Village.

I bought a bike in Paris during a 5-week visit in 2005. I found riding in the bus lanes comfortable and expedient. I seem to recall that taxi drivers also shared the lanes. I would absolutely enjoy sharing a lane with buses.

If you get off the front of the bus and stand in the aisle (behind the white line, of course) you'll have a good view of how bikers act like idiots -- it's as if someone in NY is giving a free lobotomy with every bike purchase.

Bus drivers have special training in dealing with skateboarders and bikers. Bikers (usually without helmets) act as if they own the streets and sidewalks.

Bikers are WAY more dangerous to pedestrians (and each other) than trucks, buses, taxis.

Cycling in the Madison Ave bus lane is pretty good because it's two lanes wide. If the implementation on 1st and 2nd Aves has two lanes, or one very wide lane, it could work.

I've found a love/hate relationship with sharing a lane with buses. Buses can drive faster than a cyclist, but stop more often, so you wind up in a cat and mouse game for a few blocks before ultimately leaving the bus behind and catching up to the next one and repeating the process. Some bus drivers also pull over to the right in a way that shoves the cyclist to the curb and into waiting passengers.
If cyclists can get around the bus on the non-curb side easily, this could be a great thing.

I'm a long time bike rider in the city with many years of passing and being passed by buses on my commutes.
Shared lanes would work wonderfully as long it was understood that the bicycle had the right to the whole lane. The bus must change lanes to pass. The bike rider would be fully respected riding in the center or even the left of the lane.
This wouldn't be reasonable or workable in full traffic lanes but I believe buses are few enough to facilitate this rule.

Are these the same "bus lanes" that are clogged parking and delivery trucks?